


A Very Madi Christmas

by eternaleponine



Series: Where There Is A Flame [19]
Category: The 100 (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Christmas, Christmas Fluff, F/F, First Christmas
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-25
Updated: 2017-12-25
Packaged: 2019-02-20 08:09:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,664
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13142547
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/eternaleponine/pseuds/eternaleponine
Summary: Clarke and Lexa and Madi's first Christmas as a family.  Pretty much just pure fluff.





	A Very Madi Christmas

"I've got her," Lexa said, waving off the offer of help from Marcus as she scooped Madi up and held her on her hip. Madi's head flopped down on her shoulder. She really was getting too big for this, but it was obvious she was exhausted, and Lexa only had to get her out to the car. 

They'd spent Christmas Eve with Abby and Marcus and Veelu, who had been excited when they got there, and had practically been bouncing off the walls after she opened Lexa's present: a tiny Tae Kwon Do uniform and the promise that she could start classes this week if she wanted to. (She'd been begging her parents to be allowed since she'd turned four, since that was the minimum age they would allow in the class for the littlest kids.) Veelu had been packed off to bed over an hour ago, and they had tried to leave then, but it had taken a while to get everything gathered up, and it had seemed rude not to wait for Marcus to return from tucking Veelu in. 

They said their goodbyes and good nights, and Clarke carried out the bag of gifts while Lexa got Madi into the back seat and buckled in. She was out cold practically before they were out of the driveway.

"I really hope she doesn't wake up too much when we get home," Clarke said quietly. "Maybe we should just wait..."

"You don't want to wait," Lexa said. "It's your family tradition."

"I know, but if means waking her up, is it really worth it?"

"We're going to have to wake her up anyway," Lexa said. "I don't think I can carry her up the stairs."

"We should have asked Santa for a new house for Christmas," Clarke said. "One where we don't live on the second floor."

"One," Lexa said, "Santa isn't real, and if he is, he should be in jail for stalking. Just ask our daughter." She glanced over at Clarke and winked, and Clarke grinned. "Two, even if we didn't live on the second floor, unless we had a ranch style, the bedrooms would probably be on the second floor anyway. And three, we can make that one of our goals for this year. The lease is up in May, which doesn't give us a huge amount of time, but we don't necessarily have to buy. There are houses for rent, too." 

"Sounds like a plan then," Clarke said. She reached over and touched Lexa's leg, and Lexa caught her hand and squeezed it before returning hers to the wheel.

When they got home, Madi grumbled and groaned when they woke her, but she went into the house and up the stairs under her own power, and by the time she reached the top, she seemed to be able to keep her eyelids from shutting again of their own volition. 

"You think you have it in you to open one more present?" Clarke asked. 

"Really?" Madi said. "But it's not Christmas yet."

"When I was little, we always opened one present on Christmas Eve," Clarke said. "I don't see why we can't do that now."

"Okay," Madi said. "Do I get to pick which one?"

"No," Clarke said. "It's this one here." She handed her a box that she'd had Lexa specially mark the label on when they were wrapping so they would know which one it was. Madi sat down on the couch and tore open the paper, pulling out a set of flannel pajamas printed all over with Peanuts characters sledding and throwing snowballs and gathering around their little twig of a Christmas tree. 

"Oh wow!" Madi said. "These are cool! Thank you." 

"Now Lexa," Clarke said, handing her a box with a smile. Lexa took it and opened it, revealing a matching set of pajamas, and then Clarke opened hers. 

Madi looked from one to the other, and then her face split in a grin. "They're all the same."

"Family tradition," Clarke said. "We always got matching – or as close to matching as we could get – pajamas to wear on Christmas Eve." 

"Oh," Madi said. She looked at Lexa, then at Clarke, and then threw herself at both of them so they had to catch her to keep her from faceplanting into the tree. They hugged her tight, giving her a few minutes to get hold of whatever emotions she was having before gently prying her off. 

"Go brush and change and we'll be right there to tuck you in," Lexa said. 

Madi disappeared into the bathroom, and Lexa went into the bedroom to slip out of the sweater and jeans she'd worn to Clarke's mom's for their holiday celebration. They would be celebrating with their chosen family the day after tomorrow, but they'd decided that Christmas would just be for the three of them and being lazy. Maybe see a movie like had been her tradition with her father (who they were seeing early on New Year's Eve, before they turned Madi over to Abby and Marcus for the night and then went to probably drink more than they should to decompress from having to deal with Captain Titus Woods) or maybe not. Maybe they would just spend the day in pajamas with Netflix and whatever books and games they amassed when all of the presents were unwrapped.

They settled themselves on either of side of Madi once she was under the covers and each read her a chapter from their current book, the other cuddling her when they didn't have the book to hold. By the time Lexa reached the end of the second chapter, Madi's eyes were drifting shut again. Clarke gave her a final hug and whispered good night, and Lexa leaned down to kiss her forehead. "Love you, Bug," she murmured. "Sleep tight." 

"Love you," Madi mumbled, and Clarke switched out the light and shut the door. 

They were in bed themselves a few minutes later, hands slid under flannel to brush against skin, but both of them too tired to really pursue more than some almost absent-minded caresses. "I love you," Lexa breathed against Clarke's lips in between slow, sleepy kisses. 

"Love you too," Clarke whispered back, her eyes already closed, the words drifting off as she did.

* * *

Lexa wasn't sure if it was because she'd grown up in foster care and maybe hadn't had much to look forward to on Christmas as a result, or if it was just because she was Madi and mornings were not her thing (the teenage years were going to be a blast with having to make sure she got to school on time, she could already tell), but even the prospect of presents wasn't enough to get their daughter out of bed early if she didn't have to be. The presents would still be there after taking advantage of the opportunity to sleep in, after all. Clarke wasn't a particularly early riser either, if left to her own devices, and maybe she should have let her sleep, but when Lexa woke up just before seven-thirty (which _was_ sleeping in for her) rather than getting up and going for a run, she made it worth Clarke's while to join the land of the conscious.

"Mmm..." Clarke said, her lips still pressed into the curve of Lexa's neck, her body draped half over her, limbs heavy as they basked in the afterglow. " _Merry_ Christmas."

"I thought you might like one of your presents early," Lexa said. 

"I _do_ enjoy the unwrapping," Clarke said. "And it's a gift that keeps on giving."

Lexa moaned softly, feeling her muscles twitch at the memory. She glanced at the clock. "She's probably going to wake up soon," she said. 

Clarke pouted, and Lexa kissed her jutting lip back into place. "Come on. If we're quick we can shower before she needs the bathroom."

"Together?" Clarke said hopefully.

"I said if we're quick," Lexa pointed out.

"So not together." Clarke stuck out her lip again. "Our new place needs to have two bathrooms."

"Agreed," Lexa said. "Go on, you can go first and I'll make the bed."

"You just want me to go first so I start breakfast while you're in the shower," Clarke said. 

"I can't help it that you're the scrambled egg master," Lexa said, grinning.

"Fiiiiine," Clarke said. She gathered up her pajamas and slipped into a robe, and a minute later Lexa heard the shower come on. 

When Clarke was done they traded places, and by the time Lexa got out and joined Clarke in the kitchen, Madi was up, tousle-headed but bright-eyed, and Lexa wrapped her arms around her and pulled her into her chest. "Merry Christmas, Madi-bug," she said, kissing her ear, which made Madi giggle and squirm because she said it tickled. 

"Merry Christmas, Mama," she said. "I gotta pee."

Lexa let her go, and when she came back she brushed out her hair and braided it back while Clarke finished up breakfast. They ate at the kitchen island before heading into the living room, where they settled around the tree. 

"Yours first!" Madi said, crawling under the tree and thrusting two packages at each of them. They were all similarly sized, square-ish, with one being heavier than the other. Madi had clearly wrapped them herself, and used what appeared to be half a roll of tape in the process. 

Clarke got into one of hers first and grinned as she held it up to show Lexa. It was a Funko Pop of Queen Hippolyta. "I think I know what this one is, then," Lexa said, working her fingers under the edge of the paper on the lighter of the two gifts. Sure enough... "Aunt Iope!" she said, grinning, and Madi stuck out her tongue.

"They're awesome," Clarke said. "Thank you!" She fished around under the tree and pulled out one of Madi's gifts. "I think maybe now would be a good time for this."

Madi tore into it, revealing a figure of Little Diana so that they had a matched set. "I love it!" she said, beaming. 

"They didn't make a little Diana," Lexa said, "so we had to have one made special." 

Madi's eyes went wide. "Just for me?" she asked.

"Just for you," Lexa said. "It was Clarke's idea." 

"Thank you, thank you, thank you!" Madi said, practically tackling Clarke with a hug. "I love her so much!" 

"And we love you so much," Clarke said. She shifted Madi around so she was sitting in her lap and pried into the second box. 

Lexa had already managed to get into hers and was blinking rapidly. It was a mug, probably from one of those paint-your-own pottery places. The inside and handle was painted blue-green, and the outside was a beach and the ocean and surf boards, and meticulously painted in Madi's childish cursive it said 'Mama'. 

Clarke's was blue inside, and the outside was splattered with drips and blobs of brightly colored glaze, and a paintbrush painting the word Mom.

"Trys took me to paint them," she said. "The designs were my idea but she helped draw them a little."

"They're amazing," Lexa said. "Thank you so much."

"You're welcome," Madi said. 

Since she was in Clarke's lap, Lexa was the one who ended up crawling under the tree to retrieve the presents there. They hadn't bothered to hide them, since they didn't have to pretend they were from Santa, and Madi had been good about not picking them up and shaking them (which would have given the LEGO set away in an instant), at least when they were around to notice. They'd tried not to go overboard, knowing that there would be gifts from grandparents and a plethora of "aunts" and "uncles", but it was her first Christmas with her officially as their daughter, and they might have gotten a little carried away.

Finally there were only two gifts left under the tree, which they'd intentionally saved for last. Clarke handed the first one to Madi with the warning, "Careful. It's fragile."

Madi peeled away the paper delicately and then opened the box inside. She pulled out an ornament, a glass ball with a painting of Madi being hugged by Sully, who was wearing Santa hat, on one side, and the words 'Madi's First Christmas' and the date on the other side. 

"Did you make this?" she asked, her voice barely a whisper.

"Yes," Clarke said. "Not the ball part, obviously, but they don't really make ornaments for first Christmases that aren't for babies, so I had to get creative. And I know that really, technically, last Christmas was our first Christmas, but we hadn't figured out yet that we were meant to be a family, so..." She shrugged.

"I just met Mama last Christmas," Madi said. 

"Exactly," Clarke said. "Do you want to put it on the tree?"

Madi nodded and stood up... and Lexa remembered how just a year ago that would have been a struggle for her. She pressed her lips together to keep them from quivering. "Where do you want to put it?" she asked. "You want to put it near the top?" Madi nodded again, so Lexa lifted her up so she could hook the ribbon around one of the branches she wouldn't otherwise have been able to reach. 

"Last one," Clarke said when they were settled again, this time on the couch with one of them on either side of Madi. Lexa laid the package in her lap, and she untied the bow – real ribbon, not that cheap plasticky stuff – and lifted the lid from the box. 

Inside was a big square scrapbook with her name on the front. She lifted it out and opened to the first page, which was a copy of the drawing Clarke had done of her and Lexa on Christmas last year, and a photo of her with ribbons and bells braided into her hair, hugging Sully. She flipped to the next page, and the next and the next, looking at the pictures and drawings and little bits of memorabilia of the last year: a trip to the zoo they'd taken on one of their visits when she was still living with Hannah, Clarke making her bed the night before she'd come to stay with them, her first report card she'd brought home to them after they'd become her foster parents, a copy of her adoption certificate, and a picture of the three of them together with her holding it, their trip to Hawaii... 

By the time they got to the end, tears were streaming down all of their faces. Lexa set it aside gingerly and pulled Madi into her lap. "And now you can help us fill up the rest of the pages," she said, "with all of the days of the rest of your life."

Madi nodded, pressing her face into Lexa's shoulder. Clarke reached out and rubbed her back, leaning into Lexa's side. "I think she likes it," she whispered. 

"I think you're right," Lexa whispered back. 

"I don't like it," Madi said. "I _love_ it."

"And we love you," Clarke said. 

"Hashtag Hallmark Christmas Special," Lexa said.

Clarke tried to swat her but the angle was awkward and she only managed a gentle tap. "She's making fun of us," she told Madi. "Are we going to let her get away with it?"

Madi lifted her head, her mouth twitching into a smile. "No way!"

"You do remember that I have a black belt, right?" Lexa asked. "That I can defend myself against anything you care to throw at me?"

"Oh I know," Clarke said. "But I also know that you won't." 

Lexa let out a squawk of protest as her wife and daughter wrestled her onto the floor, but Clarke was right. She wouldn't defend herself against the tickles and kisses that were their primary methods of attack. She accepted her fate and let them win.

**Author's Note:**

> I'm sorry about the title. Seriously. It just popped into my head and was too groan-worthy not to use.
> 
> Merry Christmas to those who celebrate - I'm posting this early enough that I'll hit the holiday for most time zones, at least - have an awesome day to those who don't!


End file.
